NAILED: Jenny Hou forces a smile (above) yesterday at Manhattan court, where she and Oliver Pan were convicted of fraud in fund-raising for John Liu. Photo: Steven Hirsch

Cathie Black (Robert Kalfus)

The Bloomberg administration was forced to release e-mails yesterday that show it aggressively courted celebrities and feminist icons to bolster support for the mayor’s embattled pick for schools chancellor, Cathie Black.

Black was appointed schools chief in November 2010 and served a gaffe-filled three months — from January to April 2011 — before getting the boot.

The 78 pages of e-mails from early November 2010 show Mayor Bloomberg and Black — a former Hearst Magazines honcho who was slammed for her lack of education credentials — sought support from Caroline Kennedy, Oprah Winfrey, Gloria Steinem, Bette Midler and dozens of other prominent women.

Black herself unsuccessfully lobbied Kennedy, a former fund-raiser for the city’s public schools.

“Though we have met only briefly, I just wanted to reach out and say hello,” Black wrote in an early-morning e-mail on Nov. 18.

“If you would agree to add your signature to that list [or supporters], we would be very grateful.”

Shortly after 4 p.m. that day, Black to wrote a Bloomberg deputy about the Kennedy e-mail.

“I sent this at the crack of dawn but no response. Have you heard anything?” she wrote.

The administration had told Black that Kennedy would obviously have “sympathy for what you’re going through” because of the criticism Kennedy endured during her aborted run for New York’s seat in the US Senate in 2008.

Black had better luck tapping into her own connections — writing that Oprah should tout her as a “tremendous [leader], excellent manager, innovator, mother of two . . . [with] grace under pressure.”

“I owe you big time,” Black wrote in an e-mail to Winfrey.

Black also offered up Ivanka Trump as a potential backer — but was immediately shot down.

“I would skip,” wrote Micah Lasher, the mayor’s legislative liaison to Albany at the time.

Steinem and Whoopi Goldberg were among 28 prominent women who ultimately signed a letter supporting Black.

But joining Kennedy in abstaining were Nora Ephron and Midler — despite attempts to butter them up with feminist talking points.

“Her appointment would make her the first woman chancellor, but she’s facing criticism in Albany for her alleged lack of experience,” one of the notes read.

In response to articles on growing public opposition, Black asked about taking a new tack.

“Is our strategy working . . . do we have to take another course? Or hold steady? I am ok, honestly. Just need verification!” she wrote.

Lasher replied, “All our focus needs to be on getting allies to come out in support and on getting you prepared for a debut as soon as possible.”

City Hall released the e-mails only after running out of legal options to withhold them from a public records request — and a lawsuit — filed by Sergio Hernandez, a former Village Voice intern.

“We want to encourage public service, and releasing communications between a government employer and an appointee does just the opposite,” a city lawyer said.